When the N64 is off
by AJ Taylir
Summary: When the N64 is off, the characters of Ocarina of Time have lives of their own. Just who is 'Destructo-child' and why are characters suddenly falling ill? Based on true events.
1. Coffee and chess

A/N: I thought this up a long time ago, just for humor's sake, but I never did much with it. Thank you so much to BMValkyrie for giving me the nudge I needed to put this and others up. Disclaimer: By the way, I don't own the game, I just play it.  
  
The game was saved, and the N64 clicked off.  
  
"whew, I thought she'd never stop playing." Link groaned, tugging off his hat and wiping his face.  
  
He wandered the cartridge to a special room, where Ganondorf was waiting.  
  
"rough time?" Ganondorf asked sarcastically.  
  
"you know her, always poking my nose where it shouldn't be. it's not like she hasn't played before, she's just stretching limits and digging up secrets."  
  
"yeah, I watched you fight Morpha, good job, by the way."  
  
"thanks." Link said, helping himself to some coffee from the small pot in the corner. "decaf?" he asked.  
  
"nope." Ganondorf said.  
  
"good." Link sighed, kicking it back.  
  
"gosh, as much as she hates the water temple, she fights Morpha enough. I remember a while back, she thought she screwed up, so she reset the system in a panic."  
  
"how could someone screw up like that?"  
  
"how should I know? Anyway, she must have convinced herself that she couldn't mess it up, because she hasn't done anything like that since."  
  
"I think I heard something about a time record." Ganondorf offered.  
  
"makes sense. Every one of us has been driven to the breaking point trying to beat ghoma under a half-minute again. That little brother of hers was stunning that time."  
  
"yeah, I remember." Ganondorf agreed. "how are the others, by the way?"  
  
"others? Oh, yeah. Okareena hasn't even gotten to dodongo's cavern yet, but that's because they're playing that file to keep track of story details, hmm, then there's doc, I think, that's the file their dad plays. for an adult, he's really into video games. Especially adventure or conquest games, or so I hear from the PS2 disks."  
  
"hmm, very interesting." Ganondorf said blandly, drinking his own coffee.  
  
"wanna play a game?" link asked.  
  
"what do you have in mind?"  
  
"checkers, chess, something along those lines."  
  
"chess sounds good."  
  
"so what do you think about Zelda? I mean, aside from the storyline and all?" Ganondorf asked.  
  
"personally, I think she's okay, a tad bit demanding at times, but alright. What about you?"  
  
"well, in-game I'm supposed to hate her and you and all, but like you, I think she's okay."  
  
Link smiled as he nudged a bishop a few spaces forward and over. "did you and nabooru have a thing going on?"  
  
Ganondorf's tan face reddened slightly. "get off it, would ya?" he muttered.  
  
Link perked up. "come on, Ganondorf, did you?"  
  
"will you clam up if I say yeah?"  
  
"maybe," link replied slyly.  
  
"if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, stop it right now." Ganondorf said irritably.  
  
"come on, I just want to know."  
  
"you're going to accidentally let it slip to somebody, I just know it." Ganondorf denied.  
  
"oh, well, I suppose I may just forget that your bedtime habits are secret, too." Link said offhandedly, smiling the whole time.  
  
"what? You saw-?" Ganondorf stuttered.  
  
Link laughed out loud. "it didn't bug you back then." He said with a grin.  
  
"if you breathe a word about that..." Ganondorf warned.  
  
"cool your heels, Ganondorf, and pay attention to what game you're playing. Check."  
  
Ganondorf gaped at the chessboard. He had been playing while arguing, and he wasn't watching. Link had him in a difficult position.  
  
"crap, link, you're such a sneaky cheater."  
  
"I know, whatcha gonna do about it?"  
  
a few more moves had Ganondorf with a better selection of maneuvers.  
  
"so answer my question." Link pressed.  
  
"to be honest, I tried. But even out of the game, she didn't like me. Not her type, she said."  
  
Link searched Ganondorf's face for sincerity. Satisfied, he quietly went back to playing the game.  
  
"so what about you and Saria, eh?" Ganondorf said wryly.  
  
Link stiffened immediately.  
  
Ganondorf chuckled. "I can play your game, link, I could always slip about your little secrets too, you know."  
  
Link paled, smiling weakly. "I, she, you know," he stammered, laughing feebly.  
  
"do I really, now?"  
  
"gah, alright. I've had a crush on her for years, and she's had one on me. In game and out. Mido said it in the game, and it's never been truer." Link gave in. "just don't breathe a word about, about THAT." he pleaded.  
  
Ganondorf chuckled again. "the tables are turned, link. Check."  
  
He now had the upper hand on the chessboard.  
  
"darn, how do you do it?"  
  
"I'm not stupid. I learn from my mistakes." Ganondorf said simply.  
  
"how do we manage this?" link wondered aloud.  
  
"manage what?"  
  
"it's like this almost every time. we get together over coffee and a game, and we threaten each other's emotional security to distract each other. How do we ever stay friends?"  
  
"I don't know. But it's fun, anyway."  
  
"yeah, it is. You know what?"  
  
"what?"  
  
"checkmate."  
  
"what?" Ganondorf stared hard at the board, wondering how link had him beaten. His king and queen pieces were completely separated by almost a wall of link's pieces. Any move he made, he was still beaten.  
  
He threw up his hands in defeat.  
  
"you got me, link." He conceded.  
  
Link got up. "we're out of coffee, I should get some more."  
  
"then you'd better be quick, I think she's coming back."  
  
"aw, darn, I think you're right." Link said distressfully.  
  
"what's got you so bummed?"  
  
"what do I always have to go do after the water temple?" link asked.  
  
"oh, yeah."  
  
"ugh, the one thing I think she and eye see eye-to-eye on. There's something not right about something dead up and moving trying to kill you."  
  
"true, but it only seems to happen to you."  
  
"that's because you command them, you nimnerd."  
  
"nimnerd? You're picking up little catchphrases from her now."  
  
"god, you're right; I am. I'd better hustle with that coffee."  
  
"hurry and go." Ganondorf urged.  
  
Link nodded, and rushed out of the room to get more coffee before the N64 was turned on again.  
  
A/N2: This was more or less a one-shot deal, perhaps I'll come up with a few other chapters of between-play stuff, but if anybody can give me ideas, I can make a story out of what they do when I'm not playing. ^_^ 


	2. A bet to spice up a game of checkers

Link walked into the usual room looking quite relieved.  
  
"Well, well, you're happy for someone who looked doomed the other day." Ganondorf said.  
  
"Remember how I said I shared a perspective on the shadow temple with the player?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, it bugs her so much, she had me avoid it and do just about everything else but that. We even won epona, got the sun's song..."  
  
"She didn't get that with the kid?"  
  
"The redeads in there give her the ultimate creeps. I've seen her hand the controller over to her brother for things like that."  
  
"Yeah, I know about that one." Another voice said. Young link walked into the room.  
  
"What are you doing here?" link asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"I've got every right to be in here as you, back off." The kid said mildly.  
  
"ouch." Link muttered. "Unless you want to join our conversation or drink coffee, either of which I'm sure is not the case, may I suggest you find another place to hang out?" he urged.  
  
Young link seemed to ignore him. "Well, if you really must know, the girls are posting an invasion of the other break rooms, if you know what I mean, so this reclusive hole in the cart * is the only place left."  
  
*(just a quick reminder, this is all taking place inside the cartridge)  
  
Link blinked a few times, unsure of what to say. As if on cue, navi whizzed through the door.  
  
"Is this 'barge in on link and Ganondorf day'?" link asked.  
  
Navi truly ignored him. This seemed to dishearten him a little.  
  
"Come on, zel found something cool, wanna come?" navi asked kid link.  
  
"sure." He agreed, and they left.  
  
"Wow, what was the sudden change of attitude? Usually you and the fairy get along well." Ganondorf said.  
  
Link half sighed, half groaned. "She doesn't like the way I treat the kid, that's all."  
  
"Oh. She doesn't like the big brother attitude?"  
  
"Nope. I don't know how she stays on cue in the game; it bugs her so much here."  
  
"Back on topic, anything else you got in game?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, snuck into the gerudo fortress, sniped some guards, man, I love to do that, just, don't tell them, okay?"  
  
Ganondorf smiled knowingly. "I'll try."  
  
"So now, all we need now are..." link's expression melted away, and he smacked his forehead.  
  
Ganondorf laughed. "You need the lens of truth from the well and the hover boots from the shadow temple."  
  
"Good thing the well's short and the boots are just inside that early chamber." Link said for his own assurance. "Are we well stocked with coffee? I don't want to have to dash for more before i 'play' again."  
  
"I brought in some more while you were out. We've got enough." Ganondorf assured. "Even a fresh pot of coffee."  
  
"Man, you're too good." Link gratified. He poured a cup and drank it, but not as rapidly as the last time.  
  
"Feel like another game today?" Ganondorf asked.  
  
"What do you have in mind?"  
  
"I kind of feel like playing checkers."  
  
"okay." Link said with a little shrug.  
  
The duration of the checkers game passed without threats on secrets.  
  
"So, what have you been up to? You don't make that many appearances in the game." Link said.  
  
"Eh, catching up on some reading, chatting with some of the other characters, to tell you the truth, it's pretty boring. Heh, I hope you don't beat me too fast in the end." Ganondorf said sheepishly.  
  
Link grinned. "We'll see. Speaking of beating..." he moved a piece. "You'd better be on guard." He warned.  
  
Ganondorf's checker pieces were in very vulnerable positions.  
  
He mended that in a few moves.  
  
"You know, I've never asked you, but what's your favorite level?" he asked.  
  
"hmm." Link sighed, pondering the answer. "I think that would be the fire temple."  
  
"Would the fact that the sage is nothing for me to tease you about part of the reason why?"  
  
Link gave him a strange, partly irritated, partly dumbfounded look.  
  
"You just don't quit."  
  
Ganondorf smiled. "No, I don't. But I got that from hanging around you too much."  
  
"Heh."  
  
"Link, I have an idea." Ganondorf said, while the game was still undecided.  
  
"What's that?" link asked.  
  
"How about we settle on something."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"In essence, a bet. If I win, you have to go talk to Saria and tell her right there how you feel."  
  
Link blushed furiously. "You..."  
  
Ganondorf was unflustered. "So? Think up something just as undesired for me."  
  
Link wracked his brains. Something that Ganondorf wouldn't want to do.  
  
He smiled. "You have to get nabooru to kiss you." he said.  
  
"What? But I told you, she doesn't even like me!"  
  
"I never said it had to count, I just said you had to get her to do it."  
  
"But how will I do that?"  
  
"That's up to you to decide."  
  
Ganondorf paused, almost rethinking his whole idea. Link was pretty sure of himself right about now. In fact, his delicate smile was haunting. But Ganondorf wasn't about to back down.  
  
"You're on." Ganondorf said, accepting link's proposal to his challenge, and making a calculated maneuver to continue the newly refueled game.  
  
A/N: I know this is short, but I have a funny result in my head, regardless of who wins the game and bet. Who do you think should lose? Should link openly confess his feelings to Saria? Should Ganondorf get nabooru to kiss him? I'm letting you, the readers, decide. Please review! It's the only way to pick the direction of the next chapter because I am a very indecisive person! ^_^ 


	3. And a spaz attack makes it a draw

(A/N: I'm sorry, after trying so hard to figure out who it should be, I lost my inspirational momentum. My friends tell me a draw, and since everything else adds up to a draw between link and a draw, I'll do that.)  
  
With new incentive to win, and the prospect of completely embarrassing each other, Ganondorf and link played a cautious, calculated game of checkers.  
  
Neither saw anything more than the board and the pieces. At the moment, nothing else existed to them.  
  
Their every muscle was taut with apprehension. Taut as bowstrings, one might say. And like bowstrings, if strung too tight...  
  
Someone came rather quickly through the break room door. This was the breaking point for link. Like a bowstring, he sprang out of his seat, sending the checkerboard clattering to the floor, and reached for his sword. He found himself grabbing air at his back. His sword was safely propped up against a distant wall.  
  
"You really should control that overreactive habit of yours." The fierce deity said, calmly pouring himself some coffee.  
  
"Huh?" link wondered, his hair still standing on end. "What are you doing in this cartridge?"  
  
"Majora's mask gets boring, to tell you the truth. It may be more complicated, but overall, there's less to see. I'm not needed until the end, and that's only if she gets all the masks, which I know she will, just for tenacity's sake. For that reason, I decided to vacation shortly in this cartridge. Oh, and majora's mask link says hello."  
  
Link ran a hand through his still wired hair, hoping it would calm down. It didn't.  
  
Ganondorf, who had been shocked into silence, finally spoke.  
  
"ERGH! LINK, YOU NIMROD! NOW WHAT DO WE DO!?"  
  
Link and the fierce deity turned to see what his problem was.  
  
"THE GAME, LINK! YOU KNOCKED IT OVER! NOW HOW DO WE TELL WHO WON!?"  
  
"We could, uh, play again?"  
  
Ganondorf's malcontent expression didn't even twitch.  
  
"Flip a coin?" link meekly suggested.  
  
Still no reaction.  
  
The fierce deity looked analytically at the board on the floor.  
  
"Well, I believe that it was an evenly matched game. From what I saw, before link panicked, neither of you was the victor, so it can be declared a draw."  
  
Both link and Ganondorf looked at him.  
  
"No, FD, (that's link's nickname for him) one of us has to win."  
  
"Both of you are so bent on defeating the other in-game, why can't you compromise outside of it?"  
  
"But, FD, you don't-"  
  
The fierce deity turned on link, his blank eyes glowing angrily.  
  
"The game was a draw." He said darkly. Both link and Ganondorf flinched at his creepy voice.  
  
Then, as if nothing had happened, the fierce deity picked up his coffee and walked out.  
  
Even Ganondorf's hair stood up a little bit now.  
  
The two stared at each other, unsure of what to say.  
  
"So... the game was a draw?" link managed.  
  
"Yeah... but, how do we do that?" Ganondorf asked.  
  
"I don't know. I guess we both have to."  
  
"What? But then nobody wins."  
  
"In a way, we both do, because the other one lost, but we always could lose twice because the other one wins the same way... aw, my head hurts just thinking about it. Let's just go."  
  
"Who goes first?"  
  
"Well, since I won the chess game yesterday, you should."  
  
"Oh, alright." Ganondorf conceded. Link swept up the checkerboard and pieces, and accompanied Ganondorf out of the small break room.  
  
"So, how're you going to get her to kiss you?" link asked.  
  
"Shut up, I'm thinking." Ganondorf muttered.  
  
Link did shut up, but only for a minute or two.  
  
"Thought of anything yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Anything now?"  
  
"Link, I'll send you flying through that wall if you don't quit."  
  
"okay." Link agreed. Not that he'd actually do it. 


	4. Find someplace else to duke it out!

(A/N: amidst all the other stuff in my life, this poor little bit fell by the wayside. thanks neosun7, your review reminded me it was here, and unfinished. Let's see what I can do with this baby. This is pulling away from link and Ganondorf for a while.)  
  
In another of the various rooms, some of link's various enemies were talking. One in particular, a tektite, was sniffling.  
  
"He..."  
  
"Yes, he what?" kotake asked.  
  
"He... hit me!"  
  
"Well, it's how the game goes. I'm sure he didn't really mean to hurt you, it's his job, and he can't always control it."  
  
"Y-yeah, but... He hit me r...really hard!" the tektite whimpered, showing her the welt.  
  
"Oh, poor dear." She pulled out a red potion and gave it to the tektite. "Well, I'll be sure to tell him what he did. You go calm down for a while."  
  
"O...okay." the tektite scrabbled off, occasionally emitting an audible cry.  
  
Koume and kotake exchanged knowing looks. Stuff like this happened a lot. They guessed that the player had something against tektites, for whatever reason.  
  
(A/N: XD I do, I confess!)  
  
Morpha quivered nearby. Nothing was wrong; he was just mostly water, so he quivered. He watched as kid link, kid Zelda, and navi snuck down the hall, but said nothing. If those kids were getting into trouble, it was really none of his business; they'd get out of it or be found, anyway.  
  
"So, I never asked, what's it like, being, well, an amoeba?" Ruto asked.  
  
"Well..." Morpha began, examining himself. "It's like being one core controlling water. You can move like it, kind of be it, but it's not you, so your only weakness is, well, you. Your own body. It's kind of cool to swim around."  
  
"You can swim?"  
  
"Well, not exactly. I can control the water around me. It kind of pushes me along."  
  
"That sounds cool." Ruto noted.  
  
"Yeah, it kind of is."  
  
Koume and kotake were now chatting with Twinrova, (the final form was a different person altogether, she just switched with the two sisters at that key point during the battle) Morpha and Ruto were idly talking about water, (how they stayed on such a menial topic is beyond me) and some Poes were cackling together. This leisurely moment was bound not to last.  
  
Suddenly, two blurs dropped from seemingly nowhere. They were streaks of gray-white, blue, and red, with flashes of metal and clashing sounds.  
  
The poes glared red at them as they nearly collided with them, and Morpha gathered himself into a corner.  
  
"find somewhere else to duke it out!" Ruto snapped.  
  
They paused, looking about to kill each other. They were both sheik. One was the standard, and another was red.  
  
"what the...?" Koume asked.  
  
"he's from super smash brothers melee." Original sheik said simply.  
  
"what? A gamecube game? But she doesn't even have a gamecube." Twinrova said.  
  
"come on; remember when her friend brought his GC over? I got to know some of the characters, and he decided to come visit." Sheik said.  
  
Red sheik just waited patiently for the conversation to end.  
  
"well, whatever game he came from, fight somewhere else!" Ruto ordered.  
  
"fine, don't be so pushy." Sheik said coolly, and motioned for his look- alike friend to follow him out.  
  
"They never guessed." Red sheik said quietly as they exited.  
  
He pulled his mask back, revealing that he was actually a she. While regular sheik was a different person from Zelda in this game, Zelda and sheik were in all aspects the same person in melee. It was just too difficult to switch people in the heat of combat.  
  
Red sheik pulled her mask back over her face as they approached the game door.  
  
"We're going in?" she asked, uncertain.  
  
"Sure, none of the players are where we're going yet." Sheik replied.  
  
They hurried to ganon's castle, not wanting to get caught on the way. Inside, they found a large room perfect for their match.  
  
"You know, how are you going to get back in time if he decides to play melee?" sheik asked.  
  
"I've got plenty of time; I'm sure, unless a friend wants to play. He can't control my speed."  
  
Sheik shrugged. "okay." 


	5. A rock they can't move

(A/N: not all chapters will revolve around link and Ganondorf. It'll get back to them, check who's late at the end of this chapter!)  
  
Kid Zelda waited rather impatiently for Navi and Kid Link to arrive.  
  
"Sorry! Here we are!" Kid link called.  
  
"Great! Come on!" Kid Zelda replied. She led him to a special door which led from the main cartridge into the game area.  
  
"Um, Zellie, should we be..." Kid Link trailed off uncertainly.  
  
"Come on, Link, no one's playing!"  
  
"But what if..."  
  
"Oh, don't be such a worrywart."  
  
Kid Link and Navi glanced at each other, and followed her in.  
  
"How long is this gonna take?" Kid Link whined after about five minutes of walking. "The game area's big, Zellie!" He complained.  
  
"Oh, come on, you've gone through this before."  
  
"I didn't like it then, I don't like it now." Kid Link objected.  
  
"Anyway, this is it, but, aw..." Kid Zelda faltered.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I forgot that it takes adult equipment to move this rock."  
  
"So we walked all this way to a rock we can't move?"  
  
"...Yeah..."  
  
Kid link kicked at a nearby pebble and turned around.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kid Zelda asked.  
  
"back." Kid Link said, clearly unhappy with having to go all the way back to the cartridge.  
  
Both looked up.  
  
The opening theme song was beginning to play.  
  
"Oh, shoot." Kid Link muttered. He shut his eyes, fearing the inevitable. If his file was picked, and he wasn't there, complications could ensue. The music changed to the house music.  
  
"It's the Doc file." Zelda said. "Hey, which are you?"  
  
"Okareena."  
  
"Oh, so you're not much further than Doc."  
  
"No." Link replied offhandedly, and started to walk.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?" Zelda called after him.  
  
"Back." He repeated. "I've had enough of my nerves worn down for the day."  
  
Okareena Kid Link and Kid Zelda went back into the cartridge from the game area, hoping no one saw them.  
  
"Hey, what if Doc goes to see you?" Okareena asked.  
  
Kid Zelda made a worried face.  
  
"Aw, man." She fretted.  
  
Later, after they trudged back into the cartridge, a slightly trembling, pale Kid Link came out of the game.  
  
"Doc, what happened?" okareena asked.  
  
Doc made a small noise.  
  
"Hey, Li'l D." another Adult Link said comfortingly, and walked over. He was the Adult Link for the Doc file. He gave his younger counterpart a reassuring hug. "S'okay, you're out of there now."  
  
"Where'd he go?" Zelda asked.  
  
"The well. Poor kid. Afraid of the dark and spiders."  
  
"B-big D..." Doc managed to say.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"C-can you take me to m-my room?"  
  
"Sure thing, buddy."  
  
'Big Doc' gave Kid Okareena and Kid Zelda an assuring look over his shoulder as he accompanied his younger counterpart.  
  
"Whoa. Never would have guessed he's an arch... aranch... he's afraid of spiders." Okareena finally said.  
  
"Yeah, he fights so hard." Kid Zelda agreed.  
  
Her expression soured. Another game was starting up.  
  
"Don't these people ever quit!" She huffed.  
  
"WARNING: LINK AND NAVI REPORT TO TEMPLE OF TIME. WARNING: PLAYER ENTRY IN TEN...NINE..."  
  
Kid Okareena and Kid Zelda watched a green blur bolt past them and into the game door.  
  
"Hope he makes it." Kid Zelda murmured.  
  
"yeah." Kid Okareena added. 


	6. Sand in bad places

Link slipped into the small spa room for a relaxing break after play. That had been close. Luckily, he knew all the shortcuts in and out of the game to get there on time. The fortress was okay, but that desert... he had sand in unmentionable places, and it wasn't doing him any good.  
  
When he reached the hot tub, the other two Adult Links were already there.  
  
"Hey Doc, Okareena, I guess I'm not the first?"  
  
"Nah, she's at it again." Okareena said.  
  
"Well, her dad was on, too." Doc put in.  
  
"So they passed the temple of time on your file?" Link asked.  
  
"Yeah." Okareena replied.  
  
Link slipped into the water with relief and just relaxed there.  
  
"Crazy people, I'm telling ya."  
  
"Yep." Doc agreed.  
  
"You said it." Okareena added.  
  
-----  
  
"Pass me that band-aid?"  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
A pack of Gerudos gathered around a first aid kit. Another player discrimination. The arrows weren't really dangerous, but they still hurt.  
  
"Man, why does she have to pick off everyone?" One wondered. "A max of three and she's in. if she really even needs to."  
  
"She even ran out of arrows and started using the longshot. We should really complain."  
  
"To who? Be glad she got the membership card. No more guard popping for her!"  
  
"It's all fun and games for the player, but does anyone stop to consider our feelings?"  
  
"It's all a game to them, honey, they just don't understand."  
  
-----  
  
Sheik was talking to Zelda while shaking off all the sand. While in game he was her in disguise, they couldn't find a girl to do all the things he does, so they found a guy for the job.  
  
"Yeah... pleh, sorry, I..." He coughed out a little more sand. He unwrapped his mask, and what looked like a pound of sand slipped out of it.  
  
"Oh my god, Sheik, how long were you out there?"  
  
"I dunno. Man, she likes to run Link around and do all kinds of nonsense. What a waste of time."  
  
Zelda chuckled. "I think you'd better go somewhere private, you're bound to find more where that came from."  
  
"Good idea. Later, princess!"  
  
-----  
  
"So how's little D coming?" Okareena asked.  
  
"It's a work in progress. You know, I hear she's got the same difficulty."  
  
"The player for file 1? What do you think, link?"  
  
Link thunked his head onto the edge of the tub. "Oh, yeah, she gets wigged out, she hates the music, hates the monsters, hates everything. But somehow, she waltzes me through there. Every time. It can take hours."  
  
"How many runs have you made so far?" Doc asked.  
  
"This is maybe game 4 or 5 for me."  
  
"Wow. And she's not tired of it?" Okareena put in.  
  
Link shook his head, getting some damp hair stuck to his face. He flicked it aside.  
  
"So, I don't see your buddy Ganondorf for a change." Okareena mentioned.  
  
Link started, but tried to act like nothing was up.  
  
Doc chuckled. "What did you get yourself into this time?"  
  
"We bet on a game, and got a draw." Link said simply, hoping that would be it.  
  
"So? What's to get all riled up about? What did you bet for?" Okareena asked.  
  
"I...er..."  
  
Doc shoved at him a little.  
  
"Come on, you can tell us."  
  
"I have to tell Saria how I feel, and Ganondorf has to kiss Nabooru."  
  
Okareena cracked up. Doc just smiled in amusement.  
  
"But, heheheheh.... Nabooru, geheh, doesn't even like him!" Okareena managed between cackles.  
  
"That's what he said, but that was the deal, however he gets it to happen."  
  
Okareena was still cracking up. Doc shot him a mildly annoyed look.  
  
"So how are you going to go about this?" Doc asked.  
  
"Ganondorf and I are meeting tonight to take care of it." Link decided not to say any more. Knowing that troublemaker crackpot Okareena, he'd do something stupid and wreck the whole situation.  
  
"All I can say is..." Doc trailed off, eyeing the still-laughing Okareena. "Good luck."  
  
"Thanks." Link muttered, doing the same. 


	7. After you, Ganondorf

(A/N: what I forgot to mention last time is that link likes Saria, doc likes Zelda, and okareena likes Malon. There's all common link pairings covered! Lol I'm not really very happy with these two chapters, so if you think they don't measure up to my usual standard, I already know.)  
  
Later, link walked purposefully towards the designated break room to meet with Ganondorf. He pushed open the door, and saw him inside waiting for him.  
  
"Oh, hey, link."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Coffee?" Ganondorf offered, holding up a pot.  
  
"sure." link replied. No way was he turning down coffee.  
  
They sat down for a while before heading out.  
  
"So... who goes first?" link asked.  
  
"Ehrm, well, I was kind of hoping..." Ganondorf trailed off.  
  
Link grinned challengingly. "Uh-uh. Not just willingly, anyway."  
  
"Well, come on, Saria's room is on the way to nabooru's."  
  
"It's also on the way back." Link answered.  
  
"Well, what are we gonna do about it, play another game of checkers?"  
  
"Not a bad idea, but it would take too long."  
  
"Duh, it was a rhetorical question."  
  
"Rock paper scissors. Best out of three."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Link got rock, Ganondorf, scissors. Second round, both had paper. Then link paper, Ganondorf rock.  
  
"Hah! I win. After you." he said with a melodramatic bow.  
  
Ganondorf kept his composure, at least until he reached nabooru's door. Link waited outside until he came back out.  
  
Ganondorf knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in." nabooru called. He opened the door.  
  
She was brushing her hair. Having just finished, she turned to see.  
  
"Oh, what a surprise. Hi there, Ganondorf. What brings you out of the coffee pot?" she joked.  
  
"Well, i... thought perhaps, well... you know, we haven't seen each other in a while... and I thought..."  
  
Nabooru set her elbow on the dresser top and her face on her open palm.  
  
"Spit it out." She said patiently.  
  
Ganondorf glanced around the room, his gaze falling on a bottle of wine someone had sent her. He had an idea.  
  
"Talk to you about it over a drink?" he suggested.  
  
It didn't take long. Nabooru liked wine, and she liked to talk. Soon, she was chittering and gibbering all over the place.  
  
"...Sho i shay to her, 'complain to me about that... one more dime, an' I'll shove it up your..." she started giggling uncontrollably.  
  
She looked at Ganondorf as if meeting him for the first time.  
  
"You're cute." She put out a hand. "Nice ta meet'cha. I'm drank." She introduced herself. "Uhm... drink? Drinked?" she tried to find the right word. She shrugged and giggled some more.  
  
"Yeah..." Ganondorf replied offhandedly. While she went on giggling, he tried to think out what to do next. He just had to steer this wobbly cart with a sideways wheel the way he wanted, get the kiss, and be done with it. As he sat deep in thought, the giggling quieted. Suddenly, a pillow whacked him hard in the side of the head.  
  
Outside the door, link winced, grinning.  
  
Ganondorf grunted in a heap on the floor. Nabooru beat on him some more then sat victoriously on his back.  
  
He stood up, taking her along with him.  
  
"who-o-oa." She said dizzily, and put her arms around Ganondorf's head for balance. He lurched back with the unexpected weight, and landed on the bed. Unfortunately, his hip landed on the footboard.  
  
It was all link could do to not burst out laughing.  
  
Nabooru was giggling again. Ganondorf was beginning to wonder if any of it was really worth this abuse while he rubbed furiously at his throbbing hip She got a mock serious expression.  
  
"Hey," she paused to hiccup. "What're you doing in here, anyw- anw- eh?"  
  
Ganondorf disentangled himself from the giddy woman. Sitting down near to her, he came close and kissed her before he could change his mind. She giggled some more, vaguely responding, and then started snoring. He pulled away, and she plopped over asleep.  
  
"Phew. Now that's over." He said.  
  
Nabooru sat bolt upright, and she didn't look happy. Ganondorf knew she got over alcohol quickly, but this quick? He froze.  
  
Her expression went slack, and she slumped over again. Then she twitched a little in her sleep. He breathed another big sigh of relief, and crept out.  
  
Link was red in the face from laughing so hard.  
  
Ganondorf gave him an icy look. "Shut up. You're next." he grunted. 


	8. Link's end of the deal

Still chuckling, link strode down the hall to Saria's room. As he approached the door, however, he stopped chuckling and stopped moving.  
  
"No turning back now." Ganondorf warned. "You'd better hold up your end of the deal."  
  
Slowly, link reached out his hand to knock on the door.  
  
No answer.  
  
Hesitantly, he knocked again.  
  
Still nothing.  
  
"Where could she be?" link wondered.  
  
One of the kokiri girls heard as she walked by.  
  
"She's back in the game area."  
  
Link groaned. "Again?"  
  
She nodded. "Again."  
  
Ganondorf steered him around and to the nearest game door. He trooped him through the forest entryway, (the cartridge game area was ringed with convenient little entrances) and followed atop the hedge as link meandered through the passages. He stopped before the end of the long hallway.  
  
Link froze on the spot.  
  
Ganondorf prodded him forward. He would wait here within earshot to verify he had done what was promised.  
  
Link stepped into the open. Saria was sitting on the stump with her eyes closed, playing her ocarina. Even out of the game, this was her favorite spot. He let her song flow through his head, doing something to calm his nerves.  
  
"S-Saria?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Uh, hi. I wanted; I wanted to talk to you... erm..."  
  
Link stammered his way around what he was trying to say. He gave a pleading look back to Ganondorf, who was clearly enjoying this.  
  
"I wanted to say... to say that... err, I mean... that...i..."  
  
Such a serene look on her face. She was such a whimsical, good person.  
  
Link was inspired to finish his statement.  
  
"Saria, I'm crazy about you. You're amazing. Out of everyone here, you have the most brilliant dedication, the noblest soul, I understand if you don't care about me, I just want you to know, I'm in love with you."  
  
Saria slowly opened her eyes. She looked a little confused.  
  
"Link?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah?" link replied shakily.  
  
She looked around, then at her ocarina.  
  
"Oh, foo." She muttered quietly.  
  
Link stepped back. "I understand."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Understand what?"  
  
"Your feelings. I'll go now."  
  
"Feelings? What are you talking about?"  
  
Link looked at her inquisitively. "I just told you..." he trailed off.  
  
"Oh? Oh, I'm so sorry, link, I was asleep."  
  
Link twitched.  
  
"A-asleep? B-but you, you were playing..."  
  
"Link, don't be silly! You know I can't tell one note from another, much less play music! It's a recording."  
  
Link got a glazed-over expression.  
  
"I... you...I..." link stuttered.  
  
She got up and pulled his face down to her level, examining it.  
  
"You looked flushed, link, perhaps you should go rest."  
  
She smiled that cheery smile that just conquered him inside.  
  
"I know the player makes you do all kinds of crazy things. I'll see about bringing you something to help keep up. Now go rest."  
  
Link couldn't resist. Still stunned, he walked back down the hallway to Ganondorf, who had his turn to laugh now.  
  
"She didn't hear it, I know," he whispered. "But that was so funny, it'll do."  
  
link didn't respond. After all that courage he just pulled out of himself to say that, she didn't hear a word of it.  
  
Saria watched in concern as he left. The poor guy, he always seemed so stressed. Sometimes, he did strange and ridiculous things because of it. Perhaps that's why she found him so cute. 


	9. Make her stop, please!

(A/N: I suppose I opened my big mouth about Malon, so I have to put her in soon. :P yeah, the okareena part is god-awful pathetic and insignificant. I know. But do I care? Not enough right now. My inspiration has abandoned me. Btw, the entire time link is player-bashing, he's thinking it. can't have him talking in Z64, now can we? Also, people would get awful suspicious if he started saying stuff like this)  
  
Okareena was up to play. His player usually went straight to business, which gave him lots of free time in between.  
  
After whacking his way through the town, (luckily for the redeads, this player didn't discriminate, he only hit the ones in his way) okareena trekked across the field. He wondered what the player was up to, and then he saw the ranch come up. He grinned.  
  
While link liked Saria, okareena opted for a homier individual.  
  
He tried hard to focus on playing his part around Malon, and then headed to the pen. After winning a flawless victory in the race, okareena and epona leaped the fence. In the field, okareena was wary. The horse never did like him much. The player had him go back into the ranch afterward, talking to everybody, and then saved and quit.  
  
Okareena and link waved in passing as someone else picked up the game.  
  
Link dreaded what else he might have to do. The player had avoided the shadow temple so far, even completing the spirit temple, but there wasn't much else to do. Almost all the side quests were done by now.  
  
He played the minuet of forest, and leisurely picked off moblin guards, then hopped the hedge to the lost woods. He dove into the pool, coming up in the other end by zora's domain. Shivering, he jumped into the cave, and trekked all the way up to king zora's chamber and out to the fountain. He looked around, and then looked down the waterfall.  
  
'Yeah, woo hoo... a waterfall. Yippee.' He thought, not impressed.  
  
Then he went back inside, and took the side tunnel from king zora's chamber to the inner waterfall. He looked down its length.  
  
'yeah, a FROZEN waterfall. Fascinating.'  
  
The player paused, and equipped the hover boots.  
  
'what the...?'  
  
Horrified, link ran back into ankle-deep water, and then ran off the edge of the frozen falls. He ran in the air like some pathetic cartoon, and then plummeted. He braced for the landing, but the player sent him into a roll at the last minute. Boy, this person wore on his nerves sometimes.  
  
He then climbed the ladder, and leaped into the cold river. He ducked the octorok stones for the most part, deflecting only a few he couldn't dive under. He swam as far down the current as he could, and then climbed out and walked around the castle front to dive back into the water on the other side.  
  
'what the heck is she doing?'  
  
The water ended again, so he got out of the river and he ran without stopping into the gerudo valley.  
  
'oh, no...'  
  
he took a running leap into the valley, in a swan dive. Suddenly, he halted. He was floating upside-down between the valley walls.  
  
'ehh? Oh, she thinks she's so funny with that borrowed gameshark.'  
  
(lol, I play for hours like this.)  
  
Staying in this uncomfortable position, link floated towards the headwaters, and then dropped into the waterfall basin, equipping the iron boots, but not the zora tunic.  
  
'what kind of SICKO is she?'  
  
after dodging a few boulders, the player equipped the zora tunic.  
  
'finally.'  
  
He freely thought an inappropriate name, and walked down the length of the valley underwater, occasionally getting bumped into by a boulder. They had to be heavy to stay underwater, so they did hurt when they hit.  
  
'learn to see 'em coming would ya?'  
  
link walked down into lake hylia, and then walked up towards the lab, standing underwater beneath the bridge. (this doesn't always work, but it has happened to me) with some luring maneuvers and proper timing, he got a guay to dive in after him. At first he was shocked, but it ended up amusing. The bird hit a certain depth and flew back out. Then he walked through the shallows, still in over his head in water, and taunted some tektites.  
  
'sorry, man.' He mentally apologized as he stunned and ran away from the creature.  
  
The player had him play the nocturne of shadow. Here it came. He had stepped into it just briefly before to get the hover boots, but now he had to go through it. He braced himself as he entered. But the player had neglected to fill the magic meter. About two seconds into the stone bird puzzle, it gave out, leaving link surrounded with a bunch of illusionary torch heads, and nothing to tell which was right. every time previous to this, the player had come prepared and done it right the first time. even link wondered what the 'descent into deep darkness' truly was. He stood there, waiting for something to happen, but there was nothing. He went to walk away, and the floor suddenly opened beneath him, the darkness beneath swallowing him.  
  
Link shuddered as he was put back at the entrance. Still with an empty magic meter, the player had him at it again. This time, he stood perfectly still, and the player suddenly set him running. He almost made it to the edge in time, but fell anyway. He twitched a little. Deep pitfall deaths were possibly the most common, and his least favorite. Especially here, of all places.  
  
'if I could get my hands on her....'  
  
this time, she equipped him with the hover boots. He added extra effort this time, and hovered clear away from the pit. He stepped a little closer to the edge, and peered downward. She accidentally jarred the control stick, and he hovered in place before either of them realized, and fell into the dark depths a third time.  
  
this time, he felt like curling up somewhere and hiding, but it wasn't to be. he almost cried with relief as he played the prelude of light and left the temple. To his ultimate relief, she saved and quit.  
  
He staggered out of the game area, and Ganondorf met up with him.  
  
"link, you okay? You're pale."  
  
Link shivered and gave him an exasperated look.  
  
"have I ever told you how much I hate that psychopath?"  
  
Ganondorf couldn't help but chuckle.  
  
"on multiple occasions."  
  
Link unsheathed his sword.  
  
"what's so funny?" he demanded, and beat on Ganondorf with the harmless prop.  
  
(A/N: I know this is more 'when the N64 is on', but I just thought you'd enjoy my bizarre gameplaying tendencies. I have tested various methods of escaping the stone bird's pit, I always did it right the first time until the one day I decided to find out, purely by curious choice, and I have followed the water around hyrule from its source to its end. I must have no life.) 


	10. Gameshark food

(A/N: After a disinterested hiatus, and an email from a friend, I realized just how long it's been. I can't apologize enough, especially to those who really wanted to see what was next. I'm going back to my references, and trying to pick up where I left off. I'll probably perform a huge spellcheck on this, as I realized how badly I went over it the last time. And I realize my humor may not be the best, (Thanks so much to those who appreciate it! and thanks to those who point out my weaknesses. You're all great support and help.) But it's not my typical genre. Hello again, , I'm AJ Taylir, back in the swing of things and ready to unleash some creativity. I think I'm going to wind this story to an end sometime soon, and start on some other things. Maybe more 'when the system is off' bits.)

Okareena was getting a kick out of the codes. He got a little weirded out by pitfalling over the game area borders, but other than that, the Gameshark, in his entertaining opinion, rocked.

Unlimited life, ammo, magic, the player had loaded him up this time. Every code that could be activated was activated.

Unfortunately, the novelty of unlimited resources wore off rather quickly.

He got a real thrill from the hover cheat. It was like a forbidden roller coaster. He chuckled as he saw the limits of his small world. A mirror image of the sky extended below the ground. The canyon walls surrounding Hyrule seemed the sides of a small boat, floating in a sea of nothingness.

Then, sharing his quirky sense of humor, the player sent him over the void, and released L.

With an automated falling yell to cover his whoops of excitement, he fell until he was a tiny speck on the screen and vanished. The ARS, or Auto Return System, picked him up and placed him at the castle town gates.

The player's methods suddenly changed. It was like the seasoned player had been replaced by a newbie. Up and down, up and down, this wasn't quite so fun. Swinging his sword furiously at air, bouncing around, for about ten minutes Okareena thought he'd be sick.

Then, to his relief, the player paused. He wondered what was next. He frowned to himself as the player saved the game. That didn't seem right. The player NEVER saved after a Gameshark bit.

A few moments later, the system was turned off.

Walking out of the game area, he pondered for a little while.

Malon walked up with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hi, Okareena." She said.

"Oh, uh, hi." Okareena replied, mentally kicking himself for saying something so stupid.

Malon cast a concerned look at the game door.

"The word is that some new kid's visiting player side. Some bad stories have filtered through."

Okareena followed her gaze to the door.

"How bad?"

They turned to face each other.

Malon was biting back some deep worry.

"'Destructo-child' bad."

Okareena turned back to the door. He managed a small smile. The resident players wouldn't allow something like that, surely. They took impeccable care of the system and the cartridges. When the system fell to the floor once, Player A worried over it for a week until she was assured it was alright.

But there were rumors among the cartridges. Rumors of a 'Destructo-child', who had once before caused the sudden end of a controller.

Player A saved out of habit sometimes. Surely the players knew what they were doing. No 'Destructo-child' was going to hurt this game.

Okareena gave Malon his best comforting look.

"It's fine, I'm sure." He said.

She grinned at him.

"Uh-oh. When you look serious, that REALLY means something's wrong." She joked.

Okareena chuckled a little.

Malon waved as she walked off.

"Bye, Malon!" Okareena managed to say before she got too far.

"Bye, Okareena!" She returned.

Okareena mentally kicked himself some more.

Giving the door one last glance, he walked off down the hall to his room.


	11. One of those 'Oh crap' moments

(A/N: Okay, a thousand apologies. I had every intention of writing sooner, but I just had no inspiration. There's a bit more, it's not done yet, but I think I'll wrap it up sooner than I initially intended, because I just don't have enough material to work with. But I'm in a new groove now, and I swear to stick with it 'til it's done.)

6AM Playerside time.

Link's face was buried in his pillow when the alarm sounded. He bopped futilely around at his buzzing alarm clock, missing the snooze button every time. Finally, he begrudgingly sat up and pressed the button.

He mumbled something derogatory about Player A, and made some hurry to get ready.

He was the only file character that had to get up this early. Okareena and Doc could sleep in all morning if they liked. Their players rarely ever got on until at least mid-afternoon.

His young, chipper counterpart rapped on the door.

"Cummon, cummon!" he called. "She could be on any minute!"

"Yeah, squirt, I'm coming." He replied blearily.

Some ice cold water on his face did wonders for him, and he continued with some newfound energy.

In the hall, Young Link was waiting.

"What took you so long?" The kid asked.

"I'm not a morning person." Link replied flatly as they began walking.

Young Link chuckled. "Boy, did you get stuck with the wrong player."

Link bopped him on the head to make him stop.

"So, you hear about the Destructo-child?" young link asked.

"Yeah."

"What d'you think about it?"

Link frowned slightly. How this kid was so talkative was beyond him. He needed his coffee before he was any bit a conversationalist.

"Ehh, I'm not too worried." He replied.

Young link seemed to take this to heart. If Link wasn't worried, then it surely wasn't all that bad.

The player alert kicked in. "_Attention. System powered on."_ The middle seemed fuzzed out by bad reception "..._to entry point."_

"That's weird." Link muttered. He didn't catch the name, but it had to be for him. He left young Link at the game door, and got into position. The menu theme played. Suddenly, the game area lights flickered.

i _Alert! Alert! Game malfunction! Repeat! Game malfunction! Troubleshooting team to observation room! i _

Link hissed through his teeth. A malfunction?

He exited the game area to find a very nervous young link. He didn't have time to console the kid. He had to see this for himself.

Along the way, Link spotted the Know-it-all brothers heading the same way he was. They were the troubleshooting team.

In the observation room, one of the brothers was already there, sitting in an office chair and staring in shock at a screen. It showed what the player saw. The files looked relatively normal.

As they crowded around to see, Link and the brothers all stared. The names were horribly scrambled beyond recognition. The letters weren't even recognizable.

"It just appeared like this." The one in the chair explained. "All of a sudden."

"File three reported strange player behavior recently." His brother added.

"The system is off." The third brother noted. "Should we run a full diagnostic?"

"Yeah." The first replied.

"Should I inform the rest?" link offered.

"Would you? Thanks." The second replied.

The brothers fell into a concerned chatter, and Link left the room, heaving a nervous sigh. This cartridge had NEVER malfunctioned. And the files? This was very bad, he just knew it.

As other characters filtered into break rooms and hallways, Link delivered the news as he went. The game was acting up, and no one was to go into the game area without precise clearance. The resident geniuses were on the case, so sit back, relax, and enjoy a day off.

Link needed coffee. He headed straight for his usual break room. Ganondorf was already in there, with a fresh pot steaming nearby.

"Ah! You are a lifesaver!" Link proclaimed, and all but attacked the coffee pot. He poured a big cup of coffee, and just sucked it down.

"Wow, you're thirsty." Ganondorf remarked.

"Guh... You hear the news?"

"Not the whole story, but yeah."

Link flopped into a chair.

"The files are all screwed up. The text is a botched mess."

Ganondorf gave him an interested look. "Really? You think maybe it's a practical joke?"

Link shook his head. "No. This had the Brothers close to a panic."

Ganondorf blinked. "That sounds bad." he said with a slightly nervous air. "They didn't get the name 'Know-it-all' for nothing."

"Yeah, I know." Link moaned.

"The talk is it's that Destructo-child." Ganondorf pointed out.

"That myth?" Link replied, mostly to convince himself than to counter the statement. His tone of voice betrayed his thoughts: maybe the myth was true.

"The only incident that has hard facts even supporting the idea was back when we had that freak shake-up." Ganondorf recalled. "There never was another like it before or since. And outer surveillance confirmed the presence of another player."

Link stared at a point on a nearby wall. "And confirmed only one name. Player A called him 'Destructo-child'." He finished the story. "But a data crash? This just can't be happening."

Ganondorf breathed out pensively. "well, all we can do is sit back and wait it out." He said in surrender.

Link eyed him over his now-empty coffee mug. "How can you be so calm in a time like this? We could be permanently wiped, and you sit back and wait?"

Ganondorf shrugged. "Got any better ideas?"

Link slumped back in his seat, got up, refilled his mug, and plopped down in his seat again.

"This is just too freaky."


	12. Wave of consequence

(A/N: Here I go, on a bit of a roll, here.)

The next day, the entire crew was in a panic. No one had set foot in the game area, and a subtle panic set in. Everyone was irritable due to anxiety. A scare like this was nothing to laugh at.

The know-it-all brothers had been holed up in the surveillance room since the incident, scanning the outside, examining the game's current state, and researching recent events.

"Player A didn't look very happy about this... if it's stumping the outside, this could be very bad." One brother noted.

"The programming is stable, but I can't say for how long." another added.

"Records show that there was Gameshark data involved... oh... crap." The third faltered.

The others turned sharply.

"What?" they asked in dreading unison.

The third brother scanned his findings again in the hopes he was wrong.

"Players are strongly advised against saving Gameshark data to the game. We're about to find out why." He said shakily.

All the brothers stared at each other in dread, the color fading from their faces.

Zelda and Impa, among others, were in a lounge talking quietly about recent events when the Brothers came on loudspeaker.

ATTENTION, GAME STAFF. WE HAVE CONFIRMED A GRADE THREE DATA CORRUPTION.

Gasps were audible from everyone nearby.

PLEASE REMAIN ON ALERT. WE ARE INVESTIGATING REMIDIAL MEASURES, BUT CANNOT PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF THE CORRUPTION UNTIL IT COMES UNDER CONTROL. THE GAME AREA IS STILL OFF-LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS PLEASE REMAIN ON CALL.

Zelda and Impa exchanged grave looks. 'Essential characters' were basically those of special significance. Mainly the sages and file Links.

"You check with the heroes, I'll talk to the sages." Impa suggested. Zelda nodded, and they went their separate ways, leaving a room full of anxious babbling.

Link was easy enough to find. He was in that break room, as always, and had heard the notice like everyone else. Doc was on his way to get details from the Brothers. That left...

"Okareena!" she called, banging on his door. "How can you sleep through a time like this? Get up, we have to talk! Okareena!"

_Attention. System powered on._

Zelda looked up in shock. She wouldn't let it deter her. She opened Okareena's unlocked door. Upon entering, it took a little time for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. When they did, she gasped.

The Brothers stared with bated breath at the screen. Their worst fear was about to be delayed or expedited.

"Opening sequence, normal..."

"Title, normal..."

"Next, the selection screen..."

Time slowed in the observation room, as it did all over the cartridge, as everyone awaited the outcome.

The brothers' jaws were the first to dangle weakly.

Okareena was unconscious, slumped uncomfortably against a table leg. Zelda rushed to his side and checked to make sure he was alright. Aside from being completely unresponsive, he seemed okay. She dragged him across the carpet so he lay flat, then darted to his phone and connected to the observation room.

The Brothers stared. File three was wiped completely clean, as if nothing had ever been there. They collectively jumped when they heard a loud ringing. As the Player turned off the system, the middle brother answered the phone. Zelda's anxious voice sounded through a small speaker.

_Okareena is unconscious. I can't get a response._

"Zelda, his file is completely gone."

_What?! Was it deleted?_

"There's been no player activity since the first sign of data corruption. There was no opportunity. It just disappeared."

_Disa... _There was a restricted moan from Zelda, then a calming sigh. _Send somebody over to help._

"Of course. They'll be right there."

_Thanks._ And she disconnected.

Zelda looked up as Link and Doc burst in, staring in dumbfounded shock at their identical comrade. In stunned silence, they lifted him up and carried him out.

The procession was strange as they moved to the infirmary. Everyone they passed stared quietly, fearing the worst for Okareena, and even themselves. Could this malfunction... _kill?_


	13. The malfunction takes hold

Koume and Kotake were ready and waiting in the infirmary when Zelda, Link, and Doc arrived with Okareena. They settled him onto a bed, and the resident medics went to work.

Zelda had to go get an update from the sages, but Link and Doc stayed. They also were feeling slightly unwell.

Nabooru, Saria, and Ruto came in, each carrying a child version of the men already in the room. Link and Doc stood up in surprise.

Saria, who was carrying child Link piggyback, was the first to speak.

"We got a hunch that it might hit more than Okareena, and we were right. Little Okareena is in a similar condition, while the other two are fairly ill."

It was a well represented statement. Little Okareena, in Nabooru's arms, was completely unconscious, while little Link and Doc looked uncomfortable and half-asleep.

Kotake came into the entryway, and gasped in surprise.

"Oh, no, what now?"

She scurried over to Nabooru, as her charge looked the most afflicted. She did a quick diagnostic, and stepped back, a grim, knowing look on her face.

"The same as the one in there." She said, slightly mystified.

She turned to Ruto, and checked little Doc.

"Yes, it seems the children are more receptive to it."

She turned and gave Doc and Link a haunting stare.

"I can't give you any clear estimates, but I think you two should stick around."

The heroes gave each other worried glances.

Kotake headed back to where Koume was still trying to find out just what was wrong with Okareena.

"Come along, help me put those three into beds." She called over her shoulder.

Zelda ran into Sheik on her way back.

"The sages are scattered right now." Sheik informed.

"What?" Zelda asked, short of breath.

"Nabooru, Ruto, and Saria had a hunch that the kid Links would be affected as well."

"Only Links..." Zelda mused.

"And to make things even stranger, no one else has been affected. And you know those guys are no social recluses."

"Only them." Zelda repeated, focused. What was it that set them apart?

Sheik gave her an interested look. "You on to something?"

"The files are messed up, and they feel under the weather. A file is deleted, and that same hero goes into a vegetative state."

Zelda's eye went wide with realization as she blurted out her thoughts.

"Yes! It's so simple! All the Links are distinctly different from everyone else. They are specifically connected to the goings-on on their file data. They take on the file names, and the tendencies of the player even rub off on them. They are variable characters. The game may not change, but the progressive data can, and them with it."

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "I understand what you're saying, but your point is...?"

Zelda almost smiled at her accomplishment. Had the circumstances been better, she might have.

"The files are affected by the corruption. Each file's reaction is reflected in the character that is connected to it."

The conclusion fully dawned on Sheik. "You're right."

But Zelda was already running to the observation room.

She fairly burst into the room. The know-it-all brothers looked in her direction upon hearing the door open.

"How's he doing?" one asked.

"Still no response. But I think I know what's wrong with him."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense." Another brother replied.

"You know better than everyone how the character data in the entire set of Links is connected to the file itself."

It didn't take an explanation for the Brothers to get it.

"That's it!" one of them said. "Now that you mention it, it is an extreme reflection of the sluggish state they go through if their file is manually deleted."

"Probably due to the shock of the corruption." Another followed.

"Does that mean they're safe?" The third brother asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure." the first replied. "The data corruption throws a real wild card into the situation. It could be to such extremes..."

He left it at that, knowing that no one in the room wanted, or needed, to hear the rest of that speculation.


	14. Searching for answers

Word got around the cartridge, and within an hour, rumor had it that characters were dead, the game was deteriorating into nothing, and the world was ending as a whole.

Ganondorf was in a bad mood. If ONE more character got panicky in his face again... He'd be showing a little in-game wrath in the halls.

He was sick of the hearsay, and wanted some information from the source.

He glowered upon hearing some murmuring as he passed. The five Kokiri 'twins' were huddled together, exchanging rumors.

(Play the game, check it out. There's one in the house of twins, one sitting on the shop awning, one in the shop, one near the waterfall pond, and one closer to the training area.)

One broke from the group to approach him.

"Ganondorf, I hear that..."

A seething glare that outdid even his better in-game fury stopped the girl in her tracks.

"I'm sick of hearing it." he said firmly, and walked on.

He crossed paths with Sheik, who looked intent on conversation.

"Don't you start." He growled, and went to bustle his way by.

Sheik stood firmly in his way.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Sheik asked.

"To clear up some things."

"Zelda thinks that the Links are sick because they're innately connected with the game itself."

"Really?" Ganondorf replied with interest.

"Is that what you were concerned to know?"

"Mostly I just want some hard facts to stop this gossiping storm." Ganondorf said with now lukewarm anger, gesturing roughly around.

"I understand. Zelda's gone to the know-it-all brothers in the observation room. That's the best place for answers."

"Great. Thanks." Ganondorf said with rough gratitude, and moved on. This time, Sheik didn't bother to stop him. He was on another mission.

Sheik approached the perimeter of the game area. He walked past the entryway and activated a panel in the wall. It folded outward, revealing a small observational apparatus within. It was a connection log between the game and the cartridge itself. The log took a more detailed look at the basic components than the brothers could manage in the observation room. Starting it up, he scoured the inside. The game data itself seemed sound, but something was obviously wrong with the file data. It seemed confined to the files, though. Sheik released a small sigh of relief. At least it didn't seem to be spreading.

Ganondorf briefly popped his disgruntled head into the observation room for information before heading on to the infirmary with purpose. If his best buddy was sick, he would be there to find out what he could do about it. On the way, he milled over his findings in his head. Gameshark data. It was all kind of fishy. But as explainable as a natural disaster within the confines of the cartridge. You could blame it on 'Destructo-child', you could call it a fluke, a virus, or a player attack, but all there was to be known for sure on the inside was that something was wrong. The extremist characters (mostly those who had little to no contact with others, like those Great Fairies) thought of the players as almost deities. If _they_ started rumors, there'd be a crusade. But nobody listened to those wackos. But then again, you never could know, especially during a crisis...

In mid-thought, Ganondorf came upon the Infirmary. Once inside, he looked around in bewildered concern.

All six Links, both the kids and the adults, looked pale as they sat or lay on beds lined up against one wall. Okareena and Okareena jr. looked like they were in comas. Doc was white as a sheet and shaking, while his younger counterpart was sleeping fitfully. Link, also pale, was looking around in half-delirious worry at his woozy younger self and the others.

Link turned, and smiled halfheartedly upon seeing his friend. He tried to stand, but immediately regretted it.

"Ga_hn...uhwhoa..._"

Kotake was there in a flash, urging him to sit back on his bed. He didn't argue, and landed dizzily with a _thump_.

Koume stuck her head out from around a corner and eyed Ganondorf critically, but said nothing and went back to whatever she was doing. Her twin moved on, also, checking on the Okareenas on her way by.

Ganondorf approached Link.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, mentally stabbing himself for asking such a ridiculous question.

"Nnnhh..." Link groaned in reply, screwing his eyes shut against the spinning room, and hoping the vertigo would stop.

"I went to the Brothers. They say it's only you six who are affected. The game is stable, everyone else is fine."

"Yay for them." Link muttered thickly. "Nobody has any idea what's happening to us." He said with a twinge of fear. He closed his eyes again as his stomach swooped at the fear of the unknown.

With a lack of anything to say that would better the situation, Ganondorf put a comforting hand on Link's shoulder. His long-time friend smiled drowsily at the gesture.

There was a _flump_ nearby as Doc and his junior slumped suddenly, and lay still.

Link and Ganondorf looked on in shock, and then stared wordlessly as the alert went up.

_Attention. System powered on. ....t.....ry..o......_


	15. Downhill fast

(A/N: This chapter is going to sound a bit Link/Ganondorf, but it's not intended that way, they're just very good friends, and both very concerned about matters at hand. Take it how you will, though, it wouldn't be the strangest possibility. Also, it's about a page's worth longer than the last few. I hope you like it.)

Koume and Kotake were there in a flash. Kotake checked on Doc, while her sister examined the kid.

"Just like Okareena. Unresponsive, but stable." Koume said finally. Kotake nodded in agreement.

Ganondorf had forgotten about his hand on Link's shoulder. He felt a sudden chill underneath his palm, and turned back to see what had happened. Link's face was bone white in bewildered fear, his gaze locked onto Doc's softly breathing, yet unmoving form.

"Link," Ganondorf said, then fell silent. He wanted to reassure his friend. He wanted to say it wouldn't happen to him. He wanted to make some joke out of it to shoo away some of the low-lying panic in Link's eyes, but this was too serious, too real. Nothing could make it better.

Link smiled weakly at his long-time best friend and put an ashen, clammy hand on top of his tan, warm one.

"Thanks a lot." He said.

"I wish there was something I could do to help." Ganondorf replied, taking his hand gently off Link's shoulder.

Link had a reluctant spark of calm amidst the panic he was emanating. "I appreciate you coming here. Hey, if I don't..."

Ganondorf shook his head firmly. "Not a chance, buddy, you're pulling out of this."

"Listen." Link insisted. "If I don't..." He paused, grimacing at the idea. "...make it, would you, tell Saria... for me?"

Ganondorf knew what he meant. He didn't shake or nod his head. "I refuse to believe that you won't be okay, but should the worst happen, yeah, I'll tell her."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, buddy."

A collective shiver ran through the observation room. The second file had just vanished, and Koume has just called from the Infirmary to report that Doc 1 and 2 had lost consciousness. Zelda, who stayed in the room for updates, dug through activity archives in search of a clue.

"Can't we do anything besides sit back and watch this happen?" The oldest brother asked in aggravation, thumping a fist on the desktop.

It felt like all hope was lost in that room. A low-level panic was surviving throughout the cartridge. The sages were trying to retain order, but some things just couldn't be doused with simple reason. One by one, they lost Okareena and Doc. Now, only Link remained. File number 1. He had some time. The scrambled data wasn't deteriorating right now. But the moment the player accessed the game, the data corruption would progress.

Zelda slumped backward in her seat with a hopeless sigh.

"There's nothing we don't already know in the archives. The Gameshark was active, somebody saved the data to the cartridge, and its taken effect. For each file that's gradually erased, that corresponding person goes into a sort of coma, indicative of a severe reaction to file deletion."

She slouched forward, and rested her head in her hands.

"I can't find any answers."

She eyed the Triforce of wisdom mark on her hand. It was all special effects for the game. "Man, sometimes I wish this thing was real."

Sheik was musing about the same thing at the time. They were, of course, suppose to be the same person in-game, but Zelda just couldn't manage the strength and agility required for Sheik's part. He had a similar mark on his hand, for the transformation scene and continuity.

The data looked mostly normal, but Sheik took it upon himself to do a more thorough check. Entering a security code, he unlocked the game door.

That particular door was the Temple of Time entry point. It was dark and silent inside. He proceeded out to the Castle town, which was still decayed-looking from the last active game, but silent, as well as empty. The ReDeads were conspiracy theorists, so it was likely they were stirring up trouble back outside.

As Sheik crossed the broken drawbridge into the field, he noted it was midnight, and since the game wasn't running, it stayed that way. The full moon hung in the sky, frozen at 0:00.

He pulled out a small, handy piece of equipment he received recently from a Skull Kid. Those little imps were technological geniuses to rival the Know-it-all Brothers. But while the Brothers specialized in data networking, the Skull Kids specialized in new hardware.

He thought it amusing that the forest folk of the game knew the most about technology.

This invention resembled the game controller, but it was wireless, tapping directly into the data itself, for specific manipulation. It made the deconstruction between time periods a breeze. (How else could they do seven years' worth of damage in a split second?)

He smiled as he activated the control. He was already breaking at least two regulations by being in here, and a few more for by what he was planning to do. But he was sure no one would care, due to circumstance.

He accessed recent data applications, and isolated a copy of the gameshark data. It couldn't fix what had been done, but it could replicate the incident.

Holding the L button, he lifted himself off the ground. He floated around a while, kind of enjoying the sensation, and wondering what Okareena might have done at the time.

Tentatively, he drifted toward the edge of the area. It was a sight few had the opportunity to see. A horizon beyond the horizon, a mirror image of the sky, and darkness below that.

With a certain, queasy feeling that Okareena had done this very act, Sheik held his breath, closed his eyes, and released the button.

After the sensation of falling, his feet touched solid ground again. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing at the broken drawbridge again, gripping the controller tightly. With a thrilled shudder and a small, smile, he continued his investigation.

Just as his preliminary investigation had shown, the game itself appeared fine. The inactivity was due to an authorized complete lockdown. But it was certainly the Gameshark data affecting the hero characters.

He was closer to Lake Hylia now, so he decided to leave the game area by that route. As he looked for the game door, movement caught the corner of his eye. No one was supposed to be here. The game area had been quarantined to everyone until further notice.

"Hey. Who's there?" Sheik called out, his voice echoing quietly against the silent area.

The response was a full quiet. It was different than the previous, empty silence.

Sheik walked around, looking carefully. He heard quietly shuffling footsteps over his own, soundless ones. Approaching the Lakeside lab, he used the controller to levitate to the roof. He landed silently, then peeked over the opposite edge to see Little Zelda, peeking around the corner for him.

Without a sound, he jumped down and landed behind her. He cleared his throat audibly. The child princess screamed and spun around, looking at him with wide eyes.

"H-how did you...?"

"What are you doing here, Zelda?" he asked firmly. "The game area is off-limits. You know that."

"Yeah? What about you?" she retorted, still sour over being startled.

"I'm doing an investigation. You have no reason to be in here."

"Yeah I do." She argued, crossing her arms and sticking out her lip defiantly. "My friend's sick, and I wanna find out why."

Sheik understood. She was breaking the rules for the same reason he was: answers. But he wasn't about to give her the upper hand of knowing that right now.

"Come on. We're leaving." Sheik said firmly.

Little Zelda's defiance faded into worry. "Are you gonna tell on me?"

"Not if you hurry up." he replied simply, and turned, striding for the game door. He smiled to himself in amusement as he heard her scurry after him.


	16. Unconvinced

(A/N: I tried desperately to post the previous chapter earlier, but the server was busy, so I wrote this in the meantime. Here's a hefty 2-for-1 deal for you.)

Navi was talking with some Business Scrubs when another guardian fairy approached.

"Hey, Navi! Sheik wants you. He's near the observation room." The fairy relayed, before returning to his own Kokiri companion.

Nodding in acknowledgement, she excused herself from the conversation and headed out. The tension in the cartridge was thick. Everyone had a calm façade, but underneath, everyone was worried. It was exhausting to be so wound up for so long.

Navi yawned quietly as she cruised for the observation room. Tackling the doorknob, she let herself in.

Sheik, both Zeldas, and the Know-it-all brothers were there.

"Good, you're here." Sheik said gratefully. "Do me a favor and keep an eye on her?" he asked, gesturing to the wary-looking little girl.

Navi bobbed up and down in agreement, a smile hidden in her spherical glow. Not that this was news of any kind. Zellie was constantly getting into mischief.

"Great. Thanks."

"Not a problem!" Navi piped.

Sheik continued his debriefing to the brothers. "So, as far as I can tell, the game is 100-percent stable."

"But we still have _them_ to worry about." The youngest brother replied.

Little Zelda looked at him inquisitively. "Does anyone know what happened to them?" she asked with great concern.

Zelda turned to her junior with a sad look. Kneeling to her level, she spoke assuringly. "We're not sure what's wrong yet, but I really think they'll be okay."

Zellie stared back at her with wide, worried eyes. "Really?" She asked.

Zelda put on her best encouraging smile. "Really." She said. "Now stick with Navi, and stay out of trouble, okay?"

Zellie nodded. "Okay."

Navi fluttered over. "Come on, Zel, let's go see the sages." She suggested, and herded the child princess out of the room.

Zelda watched her go, and then stood up with a sigh.

"You don't sound convinced, yourself." Sheik mused.

Zelda looked sadly at the screen among many that showed the progress and current status of the game files, and Link, Doc, and Okareena.

"You weren't this depressed when you found Okareena passed out." Sheik said knowingly.

Zelda turned on him with a scowl, which faded moments after. He was right.

The six sages moved as a group to try and calm down the panicky masses. They had thought to spread out, but Impa had made a point that the spreading rumors and tension would make too many people unpredictable.

Plus, it was an advantage having Darunia around to employ some force if necessary. Not enough to injure anyone, but enough to douse the hysteria.

As it was, it only took the word of the sages to quell the panic in the majority of the cartridge residents. It was usually the ones to high strung for their own safety, and the extremists that required extra persuasion.

A wave of calm passed in the wake of the group. All the sages felt very accomplished, but one.

Saria was feeling too preoccupied to be proud of her efforts.

While the other four spread out in the nearby vicinity, Impa hung back to speak with Saria.

"Something's been bothering you." The shadow sage noted.

Saria nodded glumly.

"I'm worried." She admitted.

Impa smiled thoughtfully. "You can't expect to calm others if you're bothered, yourself."

"I know... it's just..." she trailed off. She found herself thinking back to not so long ago, when _he_ showed up at her favorite spot and tried to talk to her while she was sleeping sitting up. She never did find out exactly what he had said to her, but whatever it was, it had him worked up somehow.

A small smile crossed her face.

Impa smiled in a motherly way. "I understand." she said comfortingly. "Take heart, Saria. While we don't yet know why, they are only slipping out of consciousness. There is still hope."

Saria smiled vaguely. If she held tight to that hope; that he'd make it through okay, maybe she could make it through, too.

Malon was one of the cartridge animal keepers. Cuccos, cows, Keese, Guay, fish and the like weren't intelligent enough to fend for themselves. Up until the lockdown, the animals had stayed in their places within the game area. They had more room that way. Now, they were in relatively small, though still roomy quarters. Malon holed herself up with her horses and cows, and worried.

It wasn't the apocalyptic theories that bothered her, or anything else that hinted that the masses were in danger. It was only one. The talk that the Links had fallen ill, or possibly even died.

Like many others, Malon had heard nothing to disprove any of the rumors. All were disconcerting, whether they were believable or not.

Talon rapped on the door, thoroughly concerned for her well-being.

"You oughta come outta there." He called to her. "Yer not gonna do yerself any good by hidin'."

"Yeah!" her younger counterpart added. A motherly cluck followed, from young Malon's pet cucco.

"I don't want to come out." Malon replied simply. "I just want to stay here by myself for a while."

Outside the latched door, Talon dropped his shoulders in defeat.

Little Malon heard some commotion in the halls, and hurried out to see, her pet cucco on her heels.

It was the sages, being mobbed with questions.

"Are we all going to die?" a zora asked in fear.

"Of course not." Nabooru assured. "The game data is perfectly sound. We-"

"I heard characters have died." A townsperson interrupted.

"It's true that some are afflicted, but they are alive and stable." Ruto explained.

More questions started boiling up.

Little Malon noticed little Zelda working her way through the crowd, with Navi floating nearby.

"Impa!" the princess called.

"Zelda." The sage noted.

"Link and the others will be okay, right?" Zellie asked.

"I'm certain they will be fine." Impa assured.

Having heard it from both Zelda and Impa, Zellie looked very satisfied. With a relieved smile, she waved goodbye and worked her way out of the crowd again. Navi spotted little Malon and called to the young princess. With smile, she hurried over.

As time went on, the crowd boiled back to its original level of racket.

"Please be calm!" Rauru called over the noise. It almost instantly quieted. "None are more than ill from adverse data exposure, and no one is in danger. The corruption is wholly contained. You are all perfectly safe." He said firmly. "You will all do a better service to yourselves and us all by being calm and rational."

His powerful voice seemed to throw a blanket of self-control over the group. Everyone there seemed reassured. The other sages looked at him and each other, curious but satisfied. What he said was a more vague rendition of the truth, but right now it was best to give the impressionable, panicky masses the short and sweet version.

Little Malon and Zellie said their helloes, exchanged their stories of concern and relief, then ran back inside to Talon and Malon, the cucco crowing in surprise as it pelted after them.

"They're okay!" little Malon hollered at the door as she, Zellie, and Navi approached. Talon looked back at her in surprise. She banged on the door with a palm. "Rauru says everything's okay! You can come out. Your _boyfriend_ is okay." She added in a teasing, gossipy voice, knowing she'd touch a nerve.

All four of them jumped in surprise as Malon wrenched the door open, and glared, scandalized, at the triumphantly grinning little girl.

(A/N: Again, exercising the standard pairings. The Link/Zelda pairing in fan fiction kind of bugs me, although it's so popular. There are hints in the game that they are in fact brother and sister. They don't jump out at you, but they're there if you pay attention. For one: You hear about Link's mother dying of grave injuries after taking him to the security of the forest, (Just who was she running from? And why?) but never his father. And Zelda's father is the king, well known, naturally, but her mother? Never brought to discussion at all. And in the fractal stories of the Great War, there are connections that are never completely explained, so it keeps you guessing. But it's by no means a far stretch of the imagination. I'd have to play it over again to be absolutely certain of my sources. Maybe I'll do that sometime relatively soon.)


	17. Everybody needs a break

(A/N: I'm so mentally involved in my own story, that I keep feeling the strain and exhaustion that the characters do. I have to give myself a break every page and a half to relax. I also apologize to any who are disappointed about the lack of humor in recent chapters. I'm not a great comedy writer, drama is more my genre. And, well... shrug I don't know what more to say.)

Link had been so stressed that he tired himself into a fitful sleep. Confident that it wasn't an attack of the corruption, Koume and Kotake let him rest.

Ganondorf sat near Link's bed, feeling a little awkward and useless. A few minutes went by, then he stood up and wandered into the back of the Infirmary. There was a small room aside, where the sisters were working. A basic computer sitting on a corner desk pulled up medical records and a small general database, while the two convened quietly over theories and possible remedies.

"I think we need an update from Observation." Kotake said. "If it's as simple as Zelda thinks it is, there shouldn't be a problem, but..."

"I know. It's more extreme, regardless. But I don't think they would have any answers. They didn't seem to be making any progress the last time we spoke with them." Koume replied thoughtfully.

Ganondorf reluctantly cleared his throat. The twin witches turned to look in unison.

"Is, ah, is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.

The sisters looked at each other pensively, then nodded to Ganondorf, both smiling.

The youngest Know-it-all brother had fallen asleep, as well. He was slumped unceremoniously against a wall, emitting quiet, buzzing snores occasionally.

The others decided to let him sleep. They were tired, too, of course, so they understood.

Zelda stifled a yawn as she stared vaguely at a computer screen.

Being holed up in a small room, constantly hailed by a barrage of anxiety, was exhausting.

"The data shows no signs of..." the oldest brother paused to yawn. "...further corruption."

"Mmm." The middle brother responded, his gaze focused on some vague point on the equipment in front of him.

Zelda tried hard to stay awake. The harder she tried, the harder it was. She propped her head up on her hand, trying to focus on the data in front of her. She'd just close her eyes for just a second... then jerk suddenly awake, and force herself to read the screen. After what felt like forever, trudging mentally through an impossible sea of words that made no sense at all, she realized she had been reading the same line over and over again.

Even Sheik was nodding off. He had been standing quietly in the corner, observing the frantic search going on and giving his opinion when it could help. Now, his eyelids drooped, and his head and shoulders found a comfortable spot on the wall as he leaned there.

Everyone had been strained awake by the whole incident. They had barely gotten any sleep for nearly 24 hours now. Everyone involved had been riding a wave of adrenaline up until now. Things were leveling out, quiet... calm...

Sheik, Zelda, and all three brothers jerked awake almost at once. Looking around, they smiled in vague amusement. Nobody blamed anyone. If there was someone else to do this job, they would have passed the torch by now to get some well-deserved rest. But nothing like this had ever happened before, so they were the only ones qualified and prepared for this kind of duty. They were the guardians, the heroes, one could say, of the cartridge.

The rest of those 'heroes' were given no such break, but they had suffered less of the strain. The sages continued on, repeating their message of security over the fuss of the residents.

"We're almost done." Ruto said with relief.

"Man, days like this are the ones that make me realize just how many people are actually in here." Darunia added in tired awe. He looked up at his shoulder, where Saria sat tiredly. Being the smallest, she had the least endurance for treks such as this. But the mission had been a success; most of the panic had been quelled.

"Hanging in there?" he asked with a smile.

Saria grinned languidly as the rhythm of Darunia walking lulled her to sleep.

Back in the Infirmary, Link slowly and blearily woke up. Something felt very wrong, and he had a haunting suspicion he knew what it meant.

"Ganondorf?" He called. "You still in here?"

In the back room, Ganondorf looked up from his current task: He was moving the furnishings in the tight study, at the bickering command of Koume and Kotake. Leaving the table askew, he walked out to see what Link wanted.

Link turned to see, but didn't bother sitting up.

"Yeah? What do you need?" Ganondorf asked as he approached.

"I know it's coming." Link said calmly.

"What?" Ganondorf grunted, confused. He reached the bedside and sat in the nearby chair.

Link cast his weary gaze on his comatose neighbors.

Ganondorf didn't need an interpretation. "You'll be fine, Link."

"Hey, I'm a grown man, I don't need that." Link assured. "I'm not afraid of this." he added.

Ganondorf gave a weak, sporting smile. "Hey, who said you were?"

"I can feel it coming."

"What, the...?" Ganondorf trailed off, then smiled unconvincingly. "Come on, you're yanking my chain, right?"

But now that he mentioned it, Ganondorf noticed that Link's pallor seemed to deepen. A cold sweat made his skin shine as the last victim anticipated his fate.

Link smiled reassuringly. "It's okay." He promised. His voice was increasingly breathy and slow. "I'm tired. I just, need a break."

And with a confident smile defying the fate he accepted, Link relaxed and closed his eyes, joining his companions in their still sleep.

_Attention. System powered on. ..n. t. sta...ng....nt._

Ganondorf stared hard at him, stunned. His gaze went past Link, into nothingness. In all their years as friends, he had never known him to give in to anything like this before.

Ganondorf smiled at his own protective ignorance. He looked on as if Link would just wake up any second. He wasn't dead, anyway. Maybe it wasn't a strange coma. Maybe he was just playing a trick on him. It wouldn't be a new development...

"Come on..." his voice wavered as he tried to call Link's bluff. "You're not really..."

Koume and Kotake gently guided the devastated man away to a quiet room to take a break alone. "You go and rest. We're taking good care of him." One of them promised. He never did know exactly which. He was too strung out at the time. It was the absolute last thing on his mind, anyway. He fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep in minutes.


	18. Is it victory?

An alert in the observation room woke up everyone there. The lethargic spell was broken. At once, they were at work as if they had never stopped. Then,a sort of gloomy finality washed over the room.

"File 1 has disappeared." The oldest brother announced.

The phone rung again. The youngest brother put it on speaker.

"_This is Koume in the Infirmary. Link and the kid have fallen under."_

Her voice conveyed the despondency shared by everyone involved.

"Thanks." The oldest brother said simply, and Koume disconnected.

Everyone cast their gazes just about anywhere but on each other.

"Now what?" The middle brother asked.

"I suppose we do what we're already doing: Wait." Zelda suggested miserably.

The air in the room soured. No one liked that idea, but no one argued. What else was there to do?

Ganondorf awoke in a small, dark room. He frowned blearily. He had dozed off. It felt good to catch up on a little rest after all the madness. He fuzzily recalled a nightmare. It had to have been a nightmare, because Link had fallen unconscious like the others. That couldn't have really happened...

He fumbled around for a light switch, and having succeeded that, the door. As he turned the knob, his gut flipped. It _had_ really happened. He shuddered, and felt like he might be sick to his stomach.

His hand offered no resistance as the door was gently opened by someone on the other side. Kotake looked in on him from the outside, a commiserating look on her face.

"I have coffee ready. Come on, it'll do you some good." She beckoned softly.

Ganondorf followed her in a miserable haze. He was determined not to look at Link as he passed, but did so anyway. It only made his heart sink further. It felt like his heart was fluttering hopelessly in one foot, and his stomach turning in the other.

Kotake said small nothings, trying to occupy his thoughts and give him a little distraction from the matter. But he barely heard her. The coffee didn't help much, either, as it only reminded him of his favorite pastime with his best friend.

It seemed the best remedy of all had been the nap. Much of his previous distress had been magnified by lack of sleep. Now, Ganondorf had settled into a quiet, low-spirited mood. He didn't respond much. Mostly, he sighed a lot and stared distantly around. Kotake gave up on talking to him, and left him to his own devices to go and speak with her sister.

Sheik and Zelda went to regroup with the sages and let them know what had happened. Chances were that they had guessed already, with the cartridge-wide alert, but it was more concrete this way.

The sages were on their way back when Sheik and Zelda found them.

"All six of them are in a comatose state." Zelda informed.

Saria, still drowsing on Darunia's shoulders, seemed to come to, only to be more miserable.

"We thought so." Nabooru replied sadly.

"We're stumped as to what we should do next." Sheik confessed. "We couldn't find any information that would help."

"Well, one point for us is that we won't have a mass riot on our hands." Darunia supplied bleakly.

"Good job." Zelda said halfheartedly, nodding.

A disappointed silence fell over them all.

The observation room was just as silent. After frantically working in there for over twenty-four hours now, the Know-it-all brothers were almost reluctant to leave. There was nothing else to watch, though. It appeared that the corruption had run its course and done its damage. They hardly dared believe it. Even if it _was_ over, that still left them with stricken comrades. Might they never wake up?

The youngest brother was the first to break the almost vigilant silence.

"You know, it stinks in here." He remarked.

His elder brothers glowered at him, asking him silently how he dared think of something like smell at a time like this. But it wasn't for long. He was right. It _did_ stink. Five stressed people in one small room had done its damage.

The brothers shared a halfhearted chuckle. Pulling out some air fresheners and propping the door open, they went to work deodorizing their workspace. Once the room smelled clean again, they decided to do something about themselves, as well. They hadn't gone anywhere or eaten much at all since the incident began.

A few hours later, the brothers returned, feeling refreshed, comfortable, and full again.

No sooner had they walked in, but the phone buzzed again.

Being the closest one to it, the middle brother answered.

"_This is Koume again. You won't believe this!"_


	19. The way they weren't

Utterly shell-shocked by the news, the eldest Know-it-all brother turned on the main speaker line. His voice quavered over loudspeakers around the cartridge.

"_All people concerned, please report to the Infirmary."_

The youngest brother's gaze was glued in shock to a progress screen that showed the file status, until his elder brothers included him in a three-way embrace.

Malon was sitting despondently in a chair when the alert sounded. She looked up in shock, and ran out of the room before anyone else could say anything. It had something to do with Okareena, she was sure of it.

Halfway there, she ran into the six sages, who were hurrying to the same location, Zelda and Sheik among them. Saria was still perched on Darunia's shoulder, yet this time she was wide awake and alert. Only her small stature and short legs stopped her from running, herself. She'd never be able to keep up.

Ganondorf dared to look out of the study. He steeled himself for the disappointing sight he had already laid eyes on. He was sorely mistaken. He rushed to his friend's bedside, where Koume and Kotake were already fussing.

Link's eyes were open, and he was looking dimly around the room.

"LINK!" Ganondorf bellowed in ecstatic surprise. He laughed out loud as he ran over.

Link pushed himself up into a sitting position, only to be tackled and winded by a flying hug from Ganondorf.

"You're alright!" Ganondorf said in relief.

"Uh!" Link grunted. "Lemme catch my breath..."

Smiling apologetically, Ganondorf released him.

"You had me worried there." He said with a mock-irritated smirk.

Link grinned in vague rendition of his usual, 'you caught me' way. "Sorry about that."

"And what was all that dramatic nonsense before you passed out, anyway?"

The expression faded into a quizzical look. "Dramatic nonsense?"

"LINK!" Saria shrieked, and vaulted off of Darunia's shoulder to tackle Link on the bed.

"Ack!" Link cried out, and landed heavily on his back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Saria apologized, getting up off him and the bed. "I was just so worried."

A few beds away, Doc and Okareena had just awakened to the same treatment from Zelda and Malon.

No one had previously expected the wave of happy relief that filled the room now.

"How are you feeling, Doc?" Zelda asked.

"...Doc...?" the bedridden man she questioned looked slightly confused.

Zelda looked around, hoping someone could explain.

Kotake walked over.

"Link's file has been restored with the same name. Doc and Okareena's have not yet had such activity. They are going through the stall period between game entries." She explained. "After the post-corruption shock wears off, they'll be perfectly fine."

Zelda looked wholly relieved as she realized what happened. She hugged Doc again. Sorting his thoughts out, he returned the gesture.

Okareena merely glanced dumbly around the room, then smiled in amusement at Malon, the look in his eye telling that he was putting up an act.

"How do you know all that?" Ganondorf asked.

"We've been in steady contact with the Know-it-all brothers, silly. Do you think we wouldn't be, in a case like this?" Koume explained, entering the room.

Ganondorf nodded slowly. "So, he won't be quite the same as he was, even after the shock from the corruption wears off?" he asked.

"Not _quite_ the same." Kotake agreed. "But you've seen him go through deletions before, so you'll know what to expect."

Ganondorf nodded, then looked to Link with a smile.

Link returned the relieved look, and then cast his gaze on the still-sleeping boys.

"What about them? Are they okay?" he asked.

"They were more receptive to the whole incident from the start. They'll require a little more recovery time. Your junior shouldn't take quite as long, as the file being written should give him a bit of a jump start."

Link nodded in understanding.

Ganondorf's smile brightened suddenly. Link noticed it, and turned to face him inquiringly.

"Hey. Before you passed out, you told me that if anything happened to you, I had something to tell Saria for you. Do you remember?" Ganondorf asked.

Link stared into the distance for a few seconds, composing his thoughts. He twitched slightly. Ganondorf grinned. That twitch was indicative of him remembering.

Saria grinned at Link. She knew what this was about. Without warning, she tackle-hugged him a second time. This time, he was ready for it.

He wrapped his arms around her, and smiled at Ganondorf over her shoulder.

"I guess our bet's completely through, then, huh?"

END

(A/N: Not the great finish I was hoping for, but I'm still happy with it. I apologize if the 180 from comedy to drama bothered anyone. I haven't touched this story in years, and my writing style has changed drastically since this began. Also, I was having trouble with keeping continuity before, and this seemed to click into place well.

As the newly updated summary reads, this _was _based on true events. The legendary 'Destructo-child' is a nephew of my neighbor. His name is Cody, and he became good friends with my younger brother a few months before that fateful day.

I have been, and always will be, VERY protective of my games and systems. That one day, we happened to be borrowing my buddy's Gameshark when Cody arrived. Reluctant as I was to let him touch my beloved N64, I had no ground on which to prevent him, so I watched on in anxious fear as he was unleashed on my baby. He had already once before dropped the system, and successfully contributed to the destruction of a controller by beating it on the floor in frustration.

He eventually grew bored, and wanted to play outside. My brother agreed, and I quietly rejoiced. Before he left, though, _he saved the game_, with many Gameshark cheats active at the time. I was in a devastated panic, as I knew many friends who lost or ruined data this way.

I couldn't bring myself to check on my game for almost three days. When I did, the file names were completely scrambled. In a gut-wrenching panic, I turned off the system.

The next day, I dared to check on the game again. The third file was wiped clean, and the remaining two were scrambled even worse than before. I checked again the next day, and the second file was wiped. A third time and all three files were completely erased.

After all three were gone, I tried starting over. Luckily, nothing else was affected, and I started new games. After that, Cody was forbidden to even be left alone near our games without strict supervision, for a good number of years.

Today, my game is fine, as if nothing had ever happened, and 'Destructo-child' has matured significantly, to the point of being trustworthy. He hasn'e damaged anything _game-related_ since. Now, my wooden sword collection is another story. It never was the same after that...

All in all, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been a trip, for sure.)


End file.
